BMW Owners News

ALA
SKA
Taming
the
YUK
ON
BR
COL ITISH
UM
BIA
WA
SH
ING
TON
Alcan
Highway
b
Wolves and
caribou and
grizzlies
By
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2007
R ich
H en r ion
#20317
T
he long-awaited morning of August
13, 2006 had arrived, and I was the
first rider on my bike. My 1995 BMW
R1100GS is billed as an adventure bike,
perfect for the ultimate adventure on
which we were about to embark. With
me were 21 other motorcyclists, ten cars,
and nine support vehicles. This adventure involved about 50 people.
That day, like all days in that rally, began with a time-speeddistance (TSD) section. We were given specific directions for
sections of precision driving that would range anywhere from ten
to 60 miles. We departed one minute apart and followed precise
directions for speed. Judges spread out along the route timed
us, and for every second over or under our prescribed time to
the checkpoint, we received one point. The lowest score for the
day and rally would win. Between the TSD’s, we ride at our own
pace.
We were all excited about our first TSD as we departed Kirkland, Washington. The first TSD began 60 miles north of Kirkland. We exited I-5 near Alger, Washington and begin 39 miles of
twisty two-lane roads. We weaved our way around Cain Lake and
Lake Whatcom. It proved difficult to concentrate on the rally control items of speed and distance in such a beautiful setting. This
section took us north toward Sumas, Washington and Canada.
The low point of the day was a 30-minute wait at the border
crossing into British Columbia. Although it was a sweltering 90
degrees, I knew the heat wouldn’t last long. I knew I would likely
need the electric liner for my jacket the next day. A ride like
Rich Henrion on the road in Alaska. The expression captures
my feelings after many days of riding in the cold and rain. Did
I mention it rained a lot in Alaska?
this calls for a variety of riding gear, as temperatures will likely
be between 90 degrees and 37 degrees Fahrenheit. My riding
gear includes my Motoport Ultra II Kevlar jacket and pants with
Aerostich Kanetsu electric liner that plugs into the bike. It consumes about four amps of power and raises the under jacket
temperature by about 15 degrees. It has been a lifesaver many
times in cold and rain.
In addition to riding gear, my bike is equipped with an Aeroflow windshield with lowers, Jesse saddlebags, heated grips,
tank bag, Russell seat with backrest, Motolights, PIAA Pro 60
XT driving lights, Garmin 276C GPS, and Sirius satellite radio.
In addition to this equipment, many other modifications have
been made to accommodate a 6’7” rider.
Once into Canada, we rode east on the Trans-Canada Highway until we reached the town of Hope and turned north. That
would be the direction of our travel for the next five days. We got
caught in a storm near 100 Mile House, British Columbia and the
temperature dropped to 55 degrees.
At 7:30 p.m., we reached our hotel in Quesnel, BC and were
in bed by 10 p.m. to rest for the journey ahead.
The next day, we departed at 7 a.m. and ended in Dease Lake,
British Columbia after 680 miles and three TSD’s, two of which
involve long dirt sections. Thick fog greeted us at our departure,
along with the 120-mile section of dirt on the Blackwater Road.
The road was narrow and slow, but dotted with tall pines and
October 2007 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Taming the Alcan Highway
beautiful lakes. The lakes outnumber the
trees for quite some distance. After threeand-a-half hours, we reached pavement.
The afternoon TSD began at 3:30 in
the ‘Ksan Village in Hazelton. This TSD
was the first 47 miles of 63 miles on the
beautiful, rough, rugged, and dirt Mitten
Forest Service Road. It was very demanding because of never-ending large potholes and a very narrow single lane with
tall brush growing right to the edges. I
decided to quit riding for rally time and
continue riding just for survival.
It was 5 p.m. and we finally made our
way back to pavement. Tired and hungry,
my buddy and riding partner, Dan Petterson, asked how far we had to ride to
reach to Dease Lake and the hotel.
The GPS said 255 miles, so I encouraged him, “Let’s RIDE!”
We had one gas stop figured in at Bell
2 on the Cassiar Highway. It closed at
eight o’clock, so we had to take care not
to be late. In the previous three hours, we
had seen seven black bears on the road.
As night fell, we slowed to about 40 mph.
Dan and I arrived at 11:30 p.m. after sixteen-and-a-half hours, seven bears, five
moose, and majestic scenery. Did I mention I love British Columbia?
On day three, we rode on to Whitehorse in the Yukon. There are 30,000
people living in the Yukon Territory and
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2007
23,000 of them reside in Whitehorse, a
nice city with temperatures in the upper
fifties and blue skies. The Yukon is a cold
desert, with little rain and winter temps
ranging from -20 to -50 Fahrenheit.
We arrived at 6:30 pm after riding 420
miles.
On the fourth day, the group split.
Some of the riders headed to the campsite
on the Yukon and Northwest Territories
border. Their route took them to Ross
River and to the end of the North Canol
Road. Dan and I took the other option
and rode to Skagway, Alaska. There were
no TSD’s that day. As soon as we reached
the Alaskan border, the rain began. It is
250 miles round trip from Whitehorse to
Skagway.
We departed for Dawson City, Yukon
Territory at 9 a.m. on the fifth day, with
a TSD northeast of Whitehorse that
involved all dirt roads, a narrow power
line trail, and a ten-minute pause. During
the pause, Dan’s rear tire went flat. We
took a look and found that he had picked
up a roofing nail. We removed and
repaired the tire, thankful for the group
support van in which we had each packed
40 pounds of gear and a set of tires.
During my year-and-a-half of planning
“
We were motionless. They turned away
from us and jogged slowly up the road. We
and preparation, my biggest debate and
concern was what tires to use. I settled
on Continental TKC-80s. They are streetlegal knobbies and have provided great
traction in the dirt, but will wear out in
less than 3,000 miles. This meant a tire
change on the road.
We were back on the road within 45
minutes and arrived at Dawson City at
7:30 pm.
The sixth and most anticipated day
of the rally included a 510-mile ride. We
followed slowly, at a safe distance, and they were
ahead of us for at least four minutes. About every
150 yards, mama stopped and turned to see if we
were still following. We kept our distance.
traveled up the Dempster Highway, 20
miles beyond Eagle Plains to the Artic
Circle, and back to Dempster Corner
by nightfall. We fueled up at Dempster
Corner at 7 a.m. An early start allowed
time for speed adjustments on a wet and
muddy road. We had hoped to be off the
highway by dark and it is 255 miles each
way. The lady at the gas station told us
it had been raining up north for the last
week, but that wouldn’t stop a bunch of
diehards. We have ridden this far, and
were determined to reach our goal.
Meeting and Avoiding
the Local Wildlife
It rained lightly and was quite muddy.
I was pleased that I mounted my new tires
by hand last night in the parking lot of
the Eldorado Hotel so I could handle the
soft stuff. The rain quit after three hours.
We were pressing on, enjoying the scenery, when at the 120-mile mark, we saw
him. He was on the road about 100 yards
away. He sniffed the air and slowly walked
toward us. That was one massive grizzly.
He got within 30 yards of us, and the cameras were quickly put away as we started
to turn our bikes around. He jumped off
the road into the brush, and we quickly
accelerated past him, not pausing for a
second look.
The scenery was gorgeous. It varied
from close wooded areas to mountains
in the distance with tundra areas. After
a quick gas stop at the 235-mile mark at
Eagle Plains, we were 20 miles from the
Artic Circle. On this last northbound
stretch, we rounded a curve and saw three
more grizzlies on the road about 30 feet
ahead of us. I don’t know who was more
surprised, the family Griz or Dan and me.
We were motionless. They turned away
from us and jogged slowly up the road.
We followed slowly, at a safe distance,
and they were ahead of us for at least four
minutes. About every 150 yards, mama
stopped and turned to see if we were still
following. We kept our distance. At the
top of the hill, they exited the road into a
Clockwise from top left: Dan
at the start of the Dempster
“Highway.” Don’t let the word
highway fool you. It is all dirt or
should I say mud. • A rest stop
about 60 miles up the Dempster.
Very wet and muddy. • Dan
Petterson at the warning sign
at the beginning of the Blackwater Road in central British
Columbia. • Rich and Dan
celebrating at the Arctic circle.
• Dan and friends fixing his flat
in the outskirts of Whitehorse in
the Yukon. Left to right, Andrew
Fekete, Aaron Gibson, Dan
kneeling, and Tim Pindel.
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Taming the Alcan Highway
clearing on the left.
Smiles, pictures, and handshakes were
aplenty at the Artic Circle sign. There are
few trees here, just a few black spruces on
the barren tundra. They are the only trees
that can survive the -50 degree winters.
We stayed about 30 minutes to rest and
reflect on our accomplishment. Dan and
I had our traditional toast to celebrate. He
is a Red Bull person and I am a Mountain
Dew man.
The ride back to Dempster Corner was
spectacular. Temperatures hit 51 degrees
and the sun was shining brightly, helping
to dry up some of the nasty mud holes. I
was thinking of moose, black bears, grizzlies, elk, caribou, and reindeer as I rode.
Leading with my GPS, in a tundra section
south of Eagle Plains, I spotted a wolf.
He was tall and husky, with a light silvergray color. He walked across the road and
stopped on the left edge when he saw me.
I slowed down, downshifting to second as
I approached him. Within ten yards, we
made eye contact, and he started to walk
quickly toward me. He was going to chase
me like a dog. He began to trot, and when
I got within ten feet, I swerved to the right
and rolled on the throttle. He chased me,
and as he got within 12 inches of my boot,
I could see his right front fang. I kicked at
him twice with my left foot and powered
away from him. He gave up the chase after
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2007
about 75 yards.
Dan had stopped back on the road
to watch my bout with the wolf, which
then went back after him. Dan, a fellow
Motorcycle Safety Foundation Rider
Coach Trainer, is an accomplished dirt
rider who was riding a Kawasaki KLR650,
a bike that handles well in the dirt. He
did a couple quick moves to get around
the wolf. I watched in amazement, wishing I had my camera out but knowing this
moment is about safety, not pictures. He
motored up to me and stopped. As we
looked at each other’s eyes, I don’t know
whose were bigger. Reaching out for a
high-five, I said, “We just got chased by
an Arctic Wolf on the Dempster Highway and lived to tell about it.” What an
“
It was like the circus coming to town; the
locals anticipate your arrival, are a little ner-
unbelievable thrill on the highlight day
of the ride of a lifetime.
Are we having fun yet?
We were back to Dempster Corner by
6 p.m., and the GPS read a daily average
of more than 45 miles per hour on this
rugged dirt highway.
The entire group was in the same hotel
each night, and no matter where we were,
we attracted a lot of attention. It was like
vous when you’re there, and glad when you leave and
nothing bad has happened. We were just a bunch of
middle-aged riders having a little fun, and boy did we
have a story for the riders meeting that night.
the circus coming to town; the locals
anticipate your arrival, are a little nervous
when you’re there, and glad when you
leave and nothing bad has happened. We
were just a bunch of middle-aged riders
having a little fun, and boy did we have a
story for the riders meeting that night.
Coming Back Down
We began the seventh day with a ferryboat ride across the Yukon River, about
250 yards of fast moving water. As we
crossed, I pondered the troubles the pioneers must have encountered when they
tried to cross this obstacle. We arrived at
the Alaska border and had a magnificent
ride on the Top of the World Highway,
with a stop in downtown Chicken, Alaska.
It was raining and 41 degrees as we got
back on the road and enjoyed the mountain scenery. To our right was a wide valley
with beautiful mountains in the distance
that resembled a saw tooth. We reached
pavement north of Tok on the way to our
Clockwise from top left: Rich
loading the GPS with the routes
for the day. At the Caribou Hotel
in Glennallen, Alaska. • Beautiful
scenery in British Columbia. Rider
#20 is Ken Westfall, #22 is Bob
Lisey, and #18 is Rich Henrion. •
Two Moose Lake on the Dempster.
This is a lake on the permafrost
that usually has Moose present.
None today. • Rich on the Blackwater Road in British Columbia. •
Fireweed along the return ride on
the Dempster. Note the sunshine
and thick dirt on the road.
October 2007 BMW OWNERS NEWS
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Taming the Alcan Highway
overnight in Fairbanks.
The rain continued, and we were
concerned with a change of route in the
plan for the eighth day’s ride. We were
supposed to ride to Denali Park and
then head east on the Denali Highway,
another dirt road, for 135 miles to Paxson.
We would overnight in Glennallen. We
waited for an announcement, only to find
out that the road had been closed from
Fairbanks south because of mudslides and
washed-out bridges. We were getting in
on the end of ten inches of rain in seven
days. We rode east to Glennallen through
Delta Junction.
We had a TSD on our way out of Fairbanks. It was 37 degrees and pouring. I
watched for black ice as I rode. About
20 miles south of Delta Junction, we hit
a sleet storm. The pellets were coming
down horizontally and there were three
inches on the ground. I was riding in the
tire track of a motor home, so the sleet was
only about one inch deep in my groove. It
was a good thing I had my snow tires on.
I started to move off the road for a photo,
but as soon as I applied the brakes, my
anti-lock system kicked in. This got my
attention. No picture.
The day ended at the Caribou Hotel in
Glennallen; ring me out and toss me into
bed.
By the final day, I didn’t want it to end.
We had established a routine and rhythm
that was fun and interesting. The roads
were beautiful and challenging, and the
other participants were fantastic and fun
to share this adventure with.
We began with a TSD heading west out
of Glennallen. It was pouring rain
and 43 degrees. We planned to meet
that afternoon at the east entrance to
Hatcher Pass for the final TSD. We
planned to ride from east to west
for 47 miles of dirt on Hatcher Pass
Road, but found that it was closed
because of more mudslides on the
west end. We did the TSD up to
the end of the pavement on the east
end of the pass, and turned around,
riding the last 60 miles to the finish
line in Anchorage.
We were welcomed into our last
TSD by a tremendous downpour.
About three miles into it, rider
number 15, Mike Stram, of Gresham,
Oregon, applied too much rear
brake on a 90-degree turn, released
Clockwise from top left: Rich Henrion ready to ride out of Fairbanks,
Alaska in the rain. • Home safely in Norway, Michigan. 8,900 miles in
16 days. • Rich Henrion in Fairbanks along with one of the automobile
entries. It is a 1954 Morris Minor driven by Kevin Kittle and Tyler Irwin.
• #18 Rich Henrion on the ferry boat crossing the Yukon River. Glenn
Parker is in the background. • Grizzly Bear family from the Arctic Circle.
54
BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2007
the brake, and went down hard on his
right side. His friends, numbers 16 and
17, passed him as his KTM motorcycle
dropped to the right side. Mike was down.
Yours truly, rider 18, stopped to pick him
up, along with his bike. I talked to him to
make sure he was all right and get him
back on the bike. His body and ego were
shaken and his helmet and bike had scuffs
to prove it. Dan and I escorted him to the
finish line, happy to help a fellow rider
finish safely.
The Alcan 5000 ended in Anchorage with - what else - pouring rain. The
riding was over, with totals of 4,600 miles,
1,500 of it dirt roads. After a tire change
to a more pavement-oriented pattern
in Anchorage, I had a quick visit with
friends Dave and Jeanne Mott in Ninilchik and head for home. Now I was in for
“
Riding with fellow cycle-junkies was a blast,
and although the ride is over, the friendships
will not be forgotten. True riders understand each
other and can relate to the need for open road. True
riders know the thrill that comes with a full tank of
gas, the wind in your face, and a stretch of unseen
road. True riders live the slogan, “It’s not the destination; it’s the journey.”
a solo ride of 3,900 miles to
Norway, Michigan. It was
six straight days of riding
from sun up to sundown.
In Retrospect
I signed up for this trip
because it had MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE written
all over it, and it proved to
be the ride of a lifetime. It
was a wonderful way to celebrate 40 years of having a
motorcycle license. Riding
with fellow cycle-junkies
was a blast, and although
the ride is over, the friendships will not be forgotten.
True riders understand
each other and can relate to the need for
open road. True riders know the thrill that
comes with a full tank of gas, the wind in
your face, and a stretch of unseen road.
True riders live the slogan, “It’s not the
destination; it’s the journey.”
True riders are hardly home…and
already planning their next adventure.
More stories and pictures can be seen
at www.Alcan5000.com. Rich Henrion is a high school auto technology instructor from Norway, Michigan.
His adventure with friend Dan Petterson of
Ludington, Michigan, on the Alcan 5000,
was a nine-day road rally. He wishes to
thank Jerry and Colleen Hines and the
Rainier Sports Car Club for sponsoring
the event..
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